Excuse me? Volunteering for a Lounge?

Posted on Sat Jan 15th, 2022 @ 12:24pm by Lieutenant Alisha Reno & Lieutenant Commander Brandon Pratt

2,542 words; about a 13 minute read

Mission: Christmas Vacation
Location: Lounge
Timeline: Christmas Holiday - Concurrent

[ON:]

Brandon was tired after his shift. As far as he knew, Victoria had a thing with one other girlfriend. He wouldn't be seeing her for the evening, which was good to see that his date had a social life. Victoria seemed the type, which he understood.

After figuring out that most of his friends on board were busy, Pratt decided to take a waltz to the Lounge along with his Chief of Engineering padd, Walkman, with cover ear headphones, chewing sugarless bubblicious gum. A good crack is heard now and then as Pratt pops the gum bubble sharply.

Pratt hadn't blinked since the moment he had caught the odd sight. From his distance, view out in the corridor on the USS Myogi, outside the ship's Lounge. Alisha Reno was inside working the bar, tending, and general hostess duties. Taking a seat at the Lounge bar, Brandon gawked. "I mean at first. I was like. Na. Really? Na. That can't be. Then you did that turn and flip of the hair thing, like from the movie with the... Well, anyways," Brandon starstruck, embarrassed. "So, you like what, tending to people's orders in the Lounge?" Brandon is curious as to Reno's reasoning. He had become great friends and felt like she were an Ally onboard.

Alisha smiled brightly at him as she flipped her hair just as he'd mentioned before, then laughed, "Just making sure all of this works." She gestured around to the rest of the lounge, "There were a few bugs in the systems, but with the help of Victoria and Terry, I think they've all been ironed out." She shook her head slightly, "I really don't think they like me... I started remaking this place without asking anyone, then they got dragooned in to help me out." She leaned over the bar, the rather plain outfit she was wearing shifting slightly, "But what can I get you, since I'm back here already."

Pratt had lent eyes to take in the sight before him. However, noticing the bra line of the bust of LT JG Reno. Mentally giving his head a shake as he knew full well his recently stolen heart belonged to the SCPO Aries. Brandon's adam's apple swallowed, as he cleared his throat as Pratt had relaxed at the bar.

"A cold Labatt beer. Tall glass, cold." Holding his hand he had paused. "Alisha. Can you make that two tall orders..."

Distraction was there, his attention wasn't on her, or at least wasn't AS on her as it was that previous day in the gym. Interesting, especially since he was literally falling all over himself that first time they'd met. She never let the smile leave her face as she left for a moment before returning with the beers, each with probably less of a head than should be there, but well... She wasn't a barmaid, "Centicred for your thoughts, Brandon?"

Brandon had lent a smile to Alisha. Setting his forearms comfortable on the top of the lounge. "Thank you for the ear." He raised his eyebrows as he watched as the beers had been set down. "Thank you Alisha. Why don't you have a drink with me? I can't drink these two. What was I thinking." Pratt had felt at his chest, "Too many carbs."

"Centicred, hunh?" Brandon held on to his com badge and slowly played with it in his hand, as he held up the drink and then took a sip and then set it aside. "I'm good. I'm good. Just. You know. One of those. A real complicated." Pratt had shaken his head and focused his eyes at Reno wishing he could tell her. "And it's just, wow. Weird."

“What’s her name?” Alisha had come around the bar and sat in an adjacent chair, grabbing the second beer and steeled herself for the taste that she’d never come to enjoy. The look she got from Brandon was priceless, “Come now, Brandon, I’m a fully trained Intelligence analyst, I look at details.” She shook her head slightly, “You barely glanced down as I leaned over the bar, you’re far more articulate than when we first met in the gym, you’re toying with your commbadge, which means you be got something or someone on your mind AND you’re embarrassed to talk about it.” She scooted her chair closer to him by a few more inches, “I’m perfectly capable of not being the center of everyone’s attention, so… What’s her name?”

Brandon had grinned. “You know. In the movies, you were far more subversive when you decided to try and deceive the G’Noc Sectarian of surrendering Konawa Prime. In the film series addendum, ‘Alexis Silverstar. The forces of Thunder’.”

“Oh Jeez!? That sounded awful!! She would find it so nerdy!” Pratt had cringed and then took a drink of his beer. “I cannot tell you." Brand wanted to, she was really kind, nice and inviting to talk. Although, there was no way he could risk it. "And for an Intel Officer, you’re not very good at interrogation!?” Brandon had huffed a bit upset but wanted to talk.

"This is an interrogation?" Alisha asked, honesty in her voice, placing the glass down on the countertop, then playfully cracking her knuckles, "Oh, I am by no means in interrogation mode, just tryin' to be friendly and supportive, like a good... Bartender, I guess? I do hope that you're never the subject of me needing to interrogate you. I'm not the best one, mind you, but I can hold my own when I need to." She picked up the glass again, taking another sip, "Anywho, if you don't want to tell me who she is, I'm not going to force you or even push you. I know a lot about unwanted attention and questions and demands."

“And how did you handle the media and relationships with people? The prying eyes. If you had wanted to hide something from prying eyes, you would.” Pratt had known full well in the media there was a love-hate relationship with the actress, turn Officer.

"If I had wanted to hide something from the eyes of the media and paparazzi?" Alisha closed her eyes with a shudder, memories percolating to the top of her mind of those few years of first trying to dodge the spotlight, then just accepting the constant intrusions, "I couldn't. With their camera drones, shotgun mics and just sheer chutzpah, they'd find what was being hidden unless you got really lucky. I ended up having to be Silverstar all the time while keeping Reno inside here." She placed a hand over her heart, "It's why I value everyone's privacy whenever I can. We should only truly share what we're comfortable sharing."

Brandon had lent his brown eyes from Alisha’s somber mood. He felt awful for having had come off as cryptic as he were. “I just. You know. I had promised not to say anything, and I respect that. I want that to be the basis of. I don’t know.” Pratt shrugged and set the beer down. Brandon then asked his ever-increasing confidant. “You mind if I ask for an Oreo Blizzard, double the Oreos?” He grinned as his tummy had ached, as it was heard grumbling through his blue tee-shirt.

“I suppose…” Alisha reluctantly hauled herself out of her chair, quite happily abandoning the beer where it was and making her way around to the other side of the bar, making herself busy as she punched in a data request and reading the result, rapidly replicating the required ingredients, not the entire ice cream monstrosity.

“I hate to have to ask you to do things for me. I can do this for myself. There is…” The brand had twisted in his seat. “Barely anyone here… And… Well, if I am in the official count?” He mocks questioned at Reno with a coy grin.

“You’re the tender of this establishment or recreational center.” Brandon further then poked jokingly in an interrogation tone. “At what time did you start your shift this evening? How many patrons have you served tonight, Lieutenant Reno?” He chuckled and rubbed his large engineering hands into his face. “I am sorry. I’m in a mood to joke around.” Looking anxious and bored. “If I were back on the Norfolk with the guys. We’d have laser tag, foam parties with the ship’s science staffers. So wicked.” Brandon reminisced. “How about you, Alisha? Any wild adventures before you served aboard the Myogi?” He watched for Alisha’s reaction.

“Hmph.” Alisha grunted slightly, finishing the semi-drinkable ice cream and sliding it across the bar, “Firstly, your clearance isn’t high enough for some of my little adventures, and this place is really supposed to be self-service, you just caught me checking. To be sure everything was still up and running properly.” She smirked slightly, “You should try out those tables over there,” She gestured to the two gaming tables, each with dim holograms scrolling through the many different game options above and beyond the pool tables they actually were.

Pratt had listened to Alisha and spooned into the frozen dessert. “Oreo’s and in Ice cream!” He mouthed having taken a bite, but it being too cold to speak. He then turned, as Alisha mentioned the gaming tables. “Honestly,” He took another large spoon bite and then set the red icon spoon inside the cup. “I already have an interactive pool table. There are, well real-life games.” He smirked. “The Pool Table in Engineering Reno.”

Brand narrowed his eyes as he walked over to check out the devices. Holding the side of the terminal interface, the fancy graphics and numerous inter-species, inter-humanoid games are possible. “Wow. This is hard stuff to come by within the Federation?” Pratt questioned Reno curious.

“An arm and a leg from the source I got them from, but well worth it.” She shrugged, “My investments are rather… Substantial. Let’s see, wild adventures, you were asking about?” She leaned against the bar again thinking, “I suppose some of my short-term undercover ops were pretty exciting. Especially because for most of them I was unarmed, with minimal combat training. You know, meeting with informants, acquiring data chips from dead drops and informants, making a drug deal that was jumped by Starfleet Security forces because they couldn’t track the baddies down without someone being there on the action?” She shook her head, “Then there was that nine-month assignment when I was a part of a smuggling group. Got a couple promotions within the group, was involved with one of the higher-ups as well, to fit in better. I traced most of their organization before I had to punch out in a hurry.”

Brandon listened. He wasn’t surprised to know that the Lieutenant had participated in such operations. It was clandestine operations of the state. Seeking possible security issues to the Federation and other channels of communications with ongoing state actors allowed for Intelligence to flourish.

“I bet you were one busy beaver!” Brandon cocked his head to the side. “I bet you got hit on a lot. That’s almost like you’re doing a movie, yet you have to keep filthy hands of puss heads off of you!” He snorted and ate another scoop of his ice treat. “I would share. I mean I would offer. But it would seem like.. weird.” Pratt shrugged eating.

“So, what else is going on in Reno’s World?! Let me know when you’re possibly going away for a while. I’ll keep guard of it.”

The subject of her ahem… Intimate life while undercover had caused a bit of discomfort. No one really needed to know about it, but she’d be honest with Jane when the time came to bring it up. A flicker of a frown crossed her face before she could control herself and he may not have even noticed it, but she’d done things to stay ‘in cover’ that she didn’t particularly enjoy, “If I’m able to tell you, I might.” She said noncommittally, “But what are you talking about guarding? My quarters aren’t public property, after all and I’ve got a watchdog already for my office.”

“Uh, The crystal. Reno! Hello. It’s only been your career. Your whole life was to guard the crystal chalice of rayon from Fin Guards of Narok.” Pratt rolled his eyes incredulously eyeing Reno. “Common here. Could I have played your character for you, perhaps? Let me guard it!!!” He grinned excitedly as the Oreo sugar high kicked in on Brandon.

The smack of her hand impacting her own face would have been audible over a raucous crowd and she groaned into it even as she savored the sting for a few moments, “You mean the hunk of quartz that someone in the special effects department chiseled into a goblet? Granted, it was really good work and he managed it on his fifth try, but you know it’s not magical and really isn’t the key to defending the planet of Ouresh, right?”

Pratt exhaled and looked around either side of him, embarrassed by the sci-fi fiction question from Reno, seeing if anyone overheard this. “Come on. Keep it low here, Reno… Come on now….”

Fanboys… What was she going to do about them? Well, there was one option at least… “How about if I just give it to you?” Alisha suggested, “I mean, it’s nice and pretty, but I’m certainly not as… Enthusiastic as you would be in its defense?”

Brandon furrowed his eyebrow. A tear almost formed, as if his single eye duct had watered in the corner, an occasional hint of pure joy formulating from Reno’s act inside him. Feelings, waves of happiness, giddiness, reverence had washed through his body.

“Alisha… That is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me. I mean.” Pratt thought about it. He truly, sincerely, more than anything burning deep down inside, wanted to say yes to be a guardian of Narok, especially if it was for Alexis Silverstar.

“Alexis. I mean Alisha. Thank you. But I cannot. It belongs to you and your children someday.” Brandon had then given a nod. He checked his watch. “Well. I had best get to the engineering lab pronto. There is a polymer with special engineering properties Starfleet is giving a lecture on. Wonderful.” Pratt rolled his eyes and mouthed the words, “Save me, Alexis Silverstar.”

Alisha gritted her teeth and decided she had to figure out SOMETHING to get this guy to back off a bit without just coming out and saying it. "Lah, sirrah, sometimes we must suffer through torture vile in order to perform our best doing our duty."

Pratt had given a salute and a grin at Alisha. She was a real sport and it meant a lot that she had often indulged him in her previous incantations. He had felt he'd best lay off, he didn't want to spill her secret.

[OFF]

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Lieutenant (JG) Alisha Reno
Chief Intelligence Officer
USS Myogi

&

Lieutenant Brandon Pratt
Chief Engineer
USS Myogi

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